Home layout specialists please help
December 28, 2022 4:50 PM Subscribe
I'm trying to brainstorm better use of two spaces in my house (home office/guest room and kitchen nook) and could use some suggestions. I'm tired of reading the same old thing on generic blogs and websites.
My kitchen nook has a beautiful bay window and probably gets more natural light than anywhere else in the house. Currently I have three bar height stools and a pub table there to be used as an eating nook. They rarely get used. The table and stools are all a little too wobbly for me to feel good about bringing my small child to do activities there. I have those things because I was trying to be frugal, found the stools on the side of the road and thought they would look cute in the kitchen. They do, but I'd rather have something I can actually use there. Some ideas:
- Different (smaller) table and chairs to use it as eating/reading/homework space
- little indoor garden area
- hammock chair facing the woods outside the bay window but can spin to face whomever is cooking also
Ok my next conundrum is the tiny room that has to work as a guest room and an office. Currently it houses two stacked utaker beds with pillows that make it look like a daybed, a 53" sit/stand desk, a walking treadmill that is kept against the wall near the bed, and a 9-cube kallax. When guests come, I move my giant sit/stand desk to the master bedroom. My most frequent visitors just take one of the mattresses out and use it one the floor and the other uses the two beds stacked to normal twin height. I'd like to get rid of the beds and switch to air mattresses for the guests but I checked with them about it and they basically said "we really like the beds but do whatever you want." (I only considered it because the last two times they have visited they only used one mattress straight on the floor with the beds still stacked. So to me that means they don't actually care about the bed frame. But, I told them I wanted their opinion because I don't want them to feel unwelcome if I make this change.)
I'd like a solution that lets me keep the desk in this 10x10 room. I'm thinking of getting rid of the cube storage and using the closet and wall shelves for everything. I don't want to spend the money for a Murphy bed.
I can potentially position the beds as an L shape so they always take as much space as they will ever need. There's just not much room for anything else if I do that. If I have to move my desk at all, I might as well move it elsewhere. I'd love to just not have to move it.
My kitchen nook has a beautiful bay window and probably gets more natural light than anywhere else in the house. Currently I have three bar height stools and a pub table there to be used as an eating nook. They rarely get used. The table and stools are all a little too wobbly for me to feel good about bringing my small child to do activities there. I have those things because I was trying to be frugal, found the stools on the side of the road and thought they would look cute in the kitchen. They do, but I'd rather have something I can actually use there. Some ideas:
- Different (smaller) table and chairs to use it as eating/reading/homework space
- little indoor garden area
- hammock chair facing the woods outside the bay window but can spin to face whomever is cooking also
Ok my next conundrum is the tiny room that has to work as a guest room and an office. Currently it houses two stacked utaker beds with pillows that make it look like a daybed, a 53" sit/stand desk, a walking treadmill that is kept against the wall near the bed, and a 9-cube kallax. When guests come, I move my giant sit/stand desk to the master bedroom. My most frequent visitors just take one of the mattresses out and use it one the floor and the other uses the two beds stacked to normal twin height. I'd like to get rid of the beds and switch to air mattresses for the guests but I checked with them about it and they basically said "we really like the beds but do whatever you want." (I only considered it because the last two times they have visited they only used one mattress straight on the floor with the beds still stacked. So to me that means they don't actually care about the bed frame. But, I told them I wanted their opinion because I don't want them to feel unwelcome if I make this change.)
I'd like a solution that lets me keep the desk in this 10x10 room. I'm thinking of getting rid of the cube storage and using the closet and wall shelves for everything. I don't want to spend the money for a Murphy bed.
I can potentially position the beds as an L shape so they always take as much space as they will ever need. There's just not much room for anything else if I do that. If I have to move my desk at all, I might as well move it elsewhere. I'd love to just not have to move it.
If you live near a Home Depot Design Center, they are free and made for this.
posted by atomicstone at 5:20 PM on December 28, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by atomicstone at 5:20 PM on December 28, 2022 [1 favorite]
A good guideline is to put furniture you spend time working at in places with lots of sunlight, because it helps you pace your days and take best advantage of the light. So if you have a tiny space with a little window, you can still keep your space from feeling gloomy if you put task furniture by the one window and make the darker spaces full of cozy things like beds and squishy chairs and bookshelves.
In your case, have you considered moving the standing desk to your bay window?? Why do your work in a tiny cramped room when you have big windows to look out at in a space you’re considering filling with a hammock? Then the tiny room can be for beds/daybeds and maybe an activity space for the kid or a workout space for the both of you.
Depending on that, you could also make the more conventional choice of putting a nice stable standard height table and chairs in the bay window nook. Get a drop leaf table so you can expand the surface out when you need more of it for craft projects and paperwork, and fold it down so you can serve meals from the counter and keep dining cozy. But also look at other spaces you could have a dining space in, since you aren’t actually spending all that much time eating and most of it is during darkness anyway. Do you have another room nearby that could be for dining, like an underutilized living room? If you have plenty of counter space you could also look into finding sturdy counter height chairs and eating at a defined area of the kitchen counter, especially if you have an L shaped kitchen with a leg that sticks out.
For the little room, if you really must keep your desk in there, try to make it welcoming with great task lighting and easily accessed storage. Put wall shelves at eye height and make it really simple to see everything you have. I think something like a loveseat would be smart for comfortable seating, and then getting really quality air mattresses for guests. It’s a good idea to keep upholstered furniture in keeping with the scale of the room, so have like huge sectionals that hold twelve people in a greatroom but keep to armchairs and loveseats for small nooks. Jamming beds in there is going to be offputting almost every time and your guests probably wanted the flailing room achieved by taking the mattress off the frame.
posted by Mizu at 5:55 PM on December 28, 2022 [5 favorites]
In your case, have you considered moving the standing desk to your bay window?? Why do your work in a tiny cramped room when you have big windows to look out at in a space you’re considering filling with a hammock? Then the tiny room can be for beds/daybeds and maybe an activity space for the kid or a workout space for the both of you.
Depending on that, you could also make the more conventional choice of putting a nice stable standard height table and chairs in the bay window nook. Get a drop leaf table so you can expand the surface out when you need more of it for craft projects and paperwork, and fold it down so you can serve meals from the counter and keep dining cozy. But also look at other spaces you could have a dining space in, since you aren’t actually spending all that much time eating and most of it is during darkness anyway. Do you have another room nearby that could be for dining, like an underutilized living room? If you have plenty of counter space you could also look into finding sturdy counter height chairs and eating at a defined area of the kitchen counter, especially if you have an L shaped kitchen with a leg that sticks out.
For the little room, if you really must keep your desk in there, try to make it welcoming with great task lighting and easily accessed storage. Put wall shelves at eye height and make it really simple to see everything you have. I think something like a loveseat would be smart for comfortable seating, and then getting really quality air mattresses for guests. It’s a good idea to keep upholstered furniture in keeping with the scale of the room, so have like huge sectionals that hold twelve people in a greatroom but keep to armchairs and loveseats for small nooks. Jamming beds in there is going to be offputting almost every time and your guests probably wanted the flailing room achieved by taking the mattress off the frame.
posted by Mizu at 5:55 PM on December 28, 2022 [5 favorites]
I hate sleeping on air mattresses, but what about a couple tri-folds that pack into a closet or at least a much smaller space in the room (on top of the Kallax maybe)? That seems like a similar comfort level to what your guests are doing now by just putting a mattress straight on the floor. Would that give you enough space for your desk and leave a middle area for "beds" when you have guests?
posted by rawralphadawg at 7:02 PM on December 28, 2022 [2 favorites]
posted by rawralphadawg at 7:02 PM on December 28, 2022 [2 favorites]
RE the kitchen: a hanging chair plus a child will likely lead to it being used as a trapeze which I would find super annoying. I'd get a child sized table and chair plus a bookshelf to hold books and craft supplies and toys.
posted by metasarah at 7:26 PM on December 28, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by metasarah at 7:26 PM on December 28, 2022 [1 favorite]
Maybe a small table from Ikea for the kitchen nook? I think a homework / eating space would be practical for the entire family, although it depends on what other eating space you already have. To take advantage of the natural light you could do some sort of window garden.
At the end of the day, you are the one spending the most amount of time in the "office", so you need to do what's right for you. A decent air mattress (or two) seems to be a reasonable compromise* between cost, comfort, and space. Alternatively, perhaps you could put "the nugget" (or a knock off) in your kiddo's room (and then drag the couch to the office when you have guests)? (Or could the mattresses you already have be stored in the closet / under kiddo's bed trundle style for eventual sleepovers)? I would also recommend good lighting.
*air mattresses aren't amazingly comfortable, but they can be improved somewhat using a comforter or sleeping bag as a mattress topper of sorts).
I am personally someone who values being able to shut the door to my workspace at the end of the day, so my inclination would not to have the office in the kitchen nook.
posted by oceano at 7:29 PM on December 28, 2022 [1 favorite]
At the end of the day, you are the one spending the most amount of time in the "office", so you need to do what's right for you. A decent air mattress (or two) seems to be a reasonable compromise* between cost, comfort, and space. Alternatively, perhaps you could put "the nugget" (or a knock off) in your kiddo's room (and then drag the couch to the office when you have guests)? (Or could the mattresses you already have be stored in the closet / under kiddo's bed trundle style for eventual sleepovers)? I would also recommend good lighting.
*air mattresses aren't amazingly comfortable, but they can be improved somewhat using a comforter or sleeping bag as a mattress topper of sorts).
I am personally someone who values being able to shut the door to my workspace at the end of the day, so my inclination would not to have the office in the kitchen nook.
posted by oceano at 7:29 PM on December 28, 2022 [1 favorite]
- The Utaker is so light; could you store the frames and mattresses in the office closet?
- Is murphy-bed hardware (Rockler, Nextbed examples), not a full cabinet, feasible? (The folded bed could be closed off with curtains on a ceiling track, or a free-standing divider, until needed)
- Could you stand the Utaker frames side-by-side on their ends against the wall and close them off?
- If your guests prefer foam mattresses but have no issues putting them directly on the floor, ditch the bed frames and store the mattresses (upright or rolled) in the closet or upright, behind a screen
- Boost natural light coming from non-kitchen windows with strategically-placed mirrors
posted by Iris Gambol at 10:24 PM on December 28, 2022 [1 favorite]
- Is murphy-bed hardware (Rockler, Nextbed examples), not a full cabinet, feasible? (The folded bed could be closed off with curtains on a ceiling track, or a free-standing divider, until needed)
- Could you stand the Utaker frames side-by-side on their ends against the wall and close them off?
- If your guests prefer foam mattresses but have no issues putting them directly on the floor, ditch the bed frames and store the mattresses (upright or rolled) in the closet or upright, behind a screen
- Boost natural light coming from non-kitchen windows with strategically-placed mirrors
posted by Iris Gambol at 10:24 PM on December 28, 2022 [1 favorite]
The kitchen nook is prime space. I see tables and chairs on Craigslist/free, freecycle, Buy Nothing all the time. Your existing table and stools might be able to be glued/ screwed to be sturdier, and/or cut down to standard height. or, as suggested, put your WFH workstation there if the kitchen won't be too noisy. Hang plants from the ceiling, use some form of storage for kids' craft supplies, like a plastic tote under the table.
I'd consider getting rid of 1 twin bed frame, stacking the 2 mattresses, getting bolsters and bigger solid foam pillows for the back, so it acts like a real couch. (if 2 mattresses are too cushy, plywood in between.) Or a folding foam setup;2 twins can be useful.
posted by theora55 at 7:34 AM on December 29, 2022
I'd consider getting rid of 1 twin bed frame, stacking the 2 mattresses, getting bolsters and bigger solid foam pillows for the back, so it acts like a real couch. (if 2 mattresses are too cushy, plywood in between.) Or a folding foam setup;2 twins can be useful.
posted by theora55 at 7:34 AM on December 29, 2022
I've got small 10x10 bedrooms as well. I've been considering a Murphy Bed/Wall Bed for the guest room / office. I don't have a manufacturer to recommend, but this site's inspiration page shows how you can build a desk into the wall bed (if interested), or have other options like a couch or just a cabinet. There are a lot of space-saving configurations available now. There are even some that have bookcases on the outside; they swivel, secret-door style, to reveal the bed.
There are other options like cabinets that hold a folded mattress which might also be sufficient for your guests.
For your kitchen nook, can you show a pic or two so we can see the space?
posted by hydra77 at 9:24 AM on December 29, 2022
There are other options like cabinets that hold a folded mattress which might also be sufficient for your guests.
For your kitchen nook, can you show a pic or two so we can see the space?
posted by hydra77 at 9:24 AM on December 29, 2022
Response by poster: Let's see if this link works. The cube storage would be moved. My desk could certainly fit there. I had my desk facing the window in the 10x10 room and it made everything else feel too cramped.
I ordered an inflatable mattress and inflated it next to the one we already had so all my guests could test them both and will be returning the less popular one. I'll probably get some foldable bed frames if I can find any that are compatible with inflatable mattresses. Add a mattress topper to each and we will be good. (I have a trifold foam mattress already in my younger child's room. I don't really have space for four of them and I sometimes need four additional places to sleep.)
Re: Hammock chair and trapeze - we are a family of AuDHDers so sensory stuff and hyperactivity stuff come with the territory. I'd rather my child use the chair as a trapeze than take off running full speed without looking first and smack his head on a door (which actually happened a few weeks ago). I'd rather he swing around on the chair than poke me or lick me on the arm because he is sensory seeking.
I'm also toying with the idea of converting my back porch to a sun room to get more space.
posted by crunchy potato at 7:06 PM on December 29, 2022
I ordered an inflatable mattress and inflated it next to the one we already had so all my guests could test them both and will be returning the less popular one. I'll probably get some foldable bed frames if I can find any that are compatible with inflatable mattresses. Add a mattress topper to each and we will be good. (I have a trifold foam mattress already in my younger child's room. I don't really have space for four of them and I sometimes need four additional places to sleep.)
Re: Hammock chair and trapeze - we are a family of AuDHDers so sensory stuff and hyperactivity stuff come with the territory. I'd rather my child use the chair as a trapeze than take off running full speed without looking first and smack his head on a door (which actually happened a few weeks ago). I'd rather he swing around on the chair than poke me or lick me on the arm because he is sensory seeking.
I'm also toying with the idea of converting my back porch to a sun room to get more space.
posted by crunchy potato at 7:06 PM on December 29, 2022
$95 folding frame, "for all mattress types" in description (inflatable mattress compatibility in q&a, reviews)
posted by Iris Gambol at 7:20 PM on December 29, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by Iris Gambol at 7:20 PM on December 29, 2022 [1 favorite]
Those bar chairs and the table do look a bit on the high side. The cubes are clashing a bit with the existing decor.How much desk space do you need? You could conceivably get adjustable tables now for $100-150 so you can sit or stand without spending a fortune (unless you need power lifting / dropping), or you can go cheaper and use those "hospital bed tables" which are height adjustable. If you are limited in space, there are laptop carts that are even smaller in footprint.
I'd say concentrate on the SEAT first, since that's what you'll spend the most time in.
posted by kschang at 9:45 AM on December 30, 2022
I'd say concentrate on the SEAT first, since that's what you'll spend the most time in.
posted by kschang at 9:45 AM on December 30, 2022
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For the kitchen definitely get rid of the bar stools and get a table and chairs that your kid can use for homework/activities/eating.
posted by Sar at 5:11 PM on December 28, 2022 [6 favorites]